Following the technological advancements, many conventional manners of transactions and payments are gradually replaced by integrated circuit (IC) cards. A cardholder's data can be stored on a memory in the IC card, enabling the IC card to be widely used for different purposes. Among others, ATM (automated teller machine) cards, financial cards, credit cards, public phone calling cards and stored-value cards are now very common IC cards. Generally, according to the data access manners, IC cards can be divided into contact IC cards, contactless IC cards and hybrid IC cards.
For example, when using a financial card that has the functions of both credit card and ATM card to make a transaction or get a service through an ATM, the cardholder has to first enter a preset password to get the right to use the financial card. Anyone who found or stole someone else's financial card and did know the password would not be able to draw cash through an ATM using the card. However, someone who stole or found a financial card can make payment using the card simply by forging the cardholder's signature to cause financial losses to the cardholder.
Meanwhile, as a result of the constantly improved wireless communication technologies, some of the IC cards have also employed the wireless communication technology of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and are most frequently used when making small-amount purchases or transactions. For example, an easy card can be used when taking bus, mass rapid transit or other public transportation means and the fares are deducted from the card when the card is passed over a contactless sensor. To enable time-saving and convenient transaction, the small-amount purchases using such IC cards do not require the consumers or cardholders to enter a password or to sign a receipt. Therefore, anyone who stole or found an IC card that can be used to make purchases simply via wireless sensing can directly use the card to make purchases or other transactions until the card is cancelled or runs out of cash.
There are also access control IC cards. To enable quick and convenient entry, a person who holds a correct access control IC card is allowed to enter or leave an access controlled area. Therefore, anyone who stole or found an access control IC card can directly use the same to gain access to a premise.